


three shades of confusion

by keptein



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, Polyamory, Threesome - M/M/M, Triad - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-02
Updated: 2014-12-02
Packaged: 2018-02-27 20:00:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2704739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keptein/pseuds/keptein
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's hard to behave like he should when no one even bothered to tell Kageyama this was a date.</p>
            </blockquote>





	three shades of confusion

**Author's Note:**

> there is a reason for this fic, and that reason is [perish](http://glitterbender.tumblr.com) and [bishop](http://arotsukki.tumblr.com). i finished it because i wanted to explore this style more, since it's very different than how i usually write. also, this triad (/edging on V around kags) is _super interesting_. so much potential! thanks to bishop for looking over it.

Kageyama doesn’t know why he’s here. He looks at Tukishima and Kunimi, chattering idly while they both look down at their phones. Should he be looking at his phone too? Is that what they’re here for? Kageyama pulls it out, but Hinata hasn’t texted him back yet, so he puts his back in his pocket. He is uncomfortable. The cutlery on the table is uneven, so he straightens it. What are Tsukishima and Kunimi talking about?

They’re discussing whether the cupcakes at the last place were better. Kageyama doesn’t eat cupcakes, so he doesn’t know. He stays quiet. His neck itches. Without looking away from his phone, Tsukishima stills the hand that’s fiddling with a spoon.

Kageyama doesn’t want to look at him. He doesn’t want to look at either of them. The café is warm. Maybe that’s why.

Why are they here? It muddles everything up. On the court, things are clear-cut. You’re either on the same side of the net, or you’re not.

You’re either on Kageyama’s side, or you’re not.

A dog barks outside. Why don’t they talk about dogs instead of cupcakes? Why don’t they talk about something he knows about, too? Kageyama doesn’t even know where the last place is.

Tsukishima’s glasses are dirty. He shouldn’t play volleyball with dirty glasses. It would hinder him, not that he doesn’t do that already himself.

Why is Kageyama still here? Tsukishima hasn’t let go of his hand. Kunimi is still talking. His neck still itches.

If Nishinoya were here, they’d have all the central components of a team. Kageyama didn’t bring a volleyball, though. Should he have? Are they going to play volleyball later?

Does he even want to play volleyball with Kunimi? Kageyama looks at him. He looks like he always does - like he’s planning to bench you on one of the most important matches you’ve played, just to prove a point.

Kageyama may be projecting. That’s what Sugawara would say, but he’s not here. It’s only the three of them here, and isn’t that strange, why the three of them, and Tsukishima hasn’t moved his hand, when did this happen? Was cupcake a codeword? Is this yet another thing he’s expected to just know, or can he ask someone about it? Could he even do that, or -

“Oi, Kageyama,” Kunimi says. He always rests on the K just a little too long, so Kageyama has time to fear what word he’s going to say. “You look deep in thought, for once.”

“Shut up,” Kageyama says, and he finally moves his hand, folding them both in his lap. He should know what’s going on by now. Kunimi and Tsukishima talk so comfortably with each other, but they still call him King. Every time they do, it feels like a splinter he can’t get out, except worse.

Kageyama can’t decide if the café is getting warmer or colder. It’s busy, but not overly so. He doesn’t want to talk to Tsukishima or Kunimi. They say ugly things.

Not to each other, though.

Why is that? He’s changed. He has.

Tsukishima touched his hand. It doesn’t mean anything, it was just to stop him from playing with the spoon. Tsukishima wouldn’t touch his hand just because he wanted to.

Kageyama looks at his hands. They’re good for volleyball, but he doesn’t know if they’re good for hand touching.

Kunimi and Tsukishima have stopped talking to each other, and the silence forces Kageyama’s gaze back up. They’re both looking at him. “What,” he says.

“Is conversing with the commoners beneath you?” Tsukishima says.

“No,” Kageyama says.

Tsukishima and Kunimi exchange a glance. It pisses Kageyama off. He’s known them longer than they’ve known each other, he’s known Kunimi for years, why doesn’t he understand what they mean? It feels like they’re omitting three words for every one they speak.

“Unless it’s about volleyball…” Kunimi starts. Kageyama doesn’t correct him. He’d much rather talk about volleyball than cupcakes, or even dogs.

“I figured,” Tsukishima says.

Something touches Kageyama’s shin. It’s Kunimi’s leg, it must be - is he going to kick him? But no, he doesn’t move it, and Kageyama slowly relaxes. The place where their legs touch is warmer than the air. Maybe Kunimi is cold.

“What did you think of it?” Kunimi asks him, nodding towards the hot chocolate Kageyama had ordered.

Kageyama shrugs. “It was okay.” He pauses, and Tsukishima takes his glasses off to polish them. “How were the cupcakes?”

Kunimi looks startled. Tsukishima looks weird, but that’s probably just because he’s still holding his glasses. “Good,” he says. “Didn’t think you cared.”

Kageyama looks towards the counter, where the cupcakes are standing on proud display. “You both ate them,” he says. “It must - I mean, clearly you care.”

Tsukishima laughs a little, and the sound grates in Kageyama’s ears. He can feel his neck warming up, but he hopes it doesn’t spread to his face. Every point he has to concede to Tsukishima’s digs feels like glass under his nails.

Kunimi gives Tsukishima a look, and Tsukishima finally puts his glasses on, nodding slightly. “Yeah, they weren’t bad,” he says.

“Good,” Kageyama says. His cheeks are definitely warmer than the rest of him. He wishes they would leave already. Fresh air would help.

They don’t look like they want to move, though, so it’s two against one. That’s how a democracy works. He knows that, even though they think he doesn’t.

Kageyama doesn’t want to suggest leaving. Maybe they’ll want to stay out of spite.

Kunimi’s leg is really warm. Kageyama doesn’t understand how he can be cold.

It’s not long until the Spring Highs. They should talk about that. Kageyama wants to crush Oikawa. He wants to crush Kunimi and Kindaichi too, but not in the same way. Maybe they’ll realize that they were wrong to abandon him if they see Oikawa lose.

Kageyama looks at Kunimi.

Probably not.

Kunimi and Tsukishima both look comfortable in their chairs. Kageyama is uncomfortable. How can they not be? He knows they’ve hung out before, probably just to talk about how much they hate him, and Kageyama’s seen them separately, but this doesn’t feel right. It’s unsettling him.

Kageyama wants to leave, but he can’t suggest it outright. “Do you want to go see a movie,” he says abruptly, interrupting Tsukishima’s explanation of something.

“Was that a question or a command?” Tsukishima says. He looks annoyed. Kageyama didn’t mean to interrupt him, but he isn’t sorry about it.

Kunimi shrugs. His shoulders are broader than they used to be. “A movie doesn’t sound so bad,” he says.

Two against one. Kageyama’s going to win this one. That’s democracy.

“Are they showing anything good?” Tsukishima asks.

“The new Nolan film is out,” Kunimi says. Kageyama thinks Hinata mentioned it. The plot sounded weird, but it’s better than sitting here.

“Let’s go,” he says. He stands up, then freezes. What if that was too much? No, they’re moving too, it’s fine.

“We paid already, right?”

Kageyama thinks so, and Tsukishima nods like he knows. Tsukishima is the type of person who keeps track of those things.

The fresh air is cold. Kunimi’s leg isn’t touching his anymore, obviously, and it feels colder there than anywhere else. His hand is still tingling, so Kageyama sticks it in his pocket.

He wants to talk about volleyball, but he doesn’t want to talk about the Spring Highs. Kunimi will bring up Karasuno’s loss at the Inter-Highs. Kageyama still remembers how he smiled on the other side of the net.

It was a bad day. He doesn’t want to think about it.

Tsukishima mentions Hinata. Kageyama doesn’t know what he was saying, and with Tsukishima, it could go either way. He’s nice to Hinata sometimes, but not often. More than he is to Kageyama, but that’s unsurprising.

The walk to the cinema doesn’t take very long at all. The sun is still out, although it won’t be for long. Tsukishima and Kunimi look more normal in this lighting than the fake warmth in the café. This isn’t as bad. The air helps.

Tsukishima mentions an anime he and Yamaguchi have been watching lately, and it turns out they’ve all seen it. Kageyama’s only seen a couple of episodes, because it’s usually on when he’s out on a run, but sometimes he finishes early. It’s a nice anime, and he knows enough about it to say something.

“Of course you like the main character,” Kunimi snorts. “He’s an idiot.”

“He’s _dedicated,”_ Kageyama says.

“That’s one word for it,” Tsukishima says.

The conversation is calming. Tsukishima and Kunimi are never predictable, but they stay reasonable enough that Kageyama can follow them, and that’s nice. It’s unusual enough to be  strange, but it’s nice.

Kageyama’s hands start to unclench a little.

The cinema is big. Kageyama’s been in it before, but not very often. He doesn’t like going alone. They buy their tickets. His skin doesn’t feel as tight any more. There’s more room to breathe.

“Popcorn,” he says. It’s been a long time since he went to a cinema. It was probably with his mother, and she always buys popcorn. “I’m buying popcorn.”

“Buy two,” Tsukishima says.

“A big one,” Kunimi says. “We’ll share.”

Kageyama finds out that they have buckets of popcorn to share. They didn’t have those when he was little. He buys it, even though it’s kind of expensive. He doesn’t want either of them to call him selfish.

They go to find their seats. Tsukishima goes into the row first, and Kageyama follows him, so he ends up in the middle. He doesn’t know if he minds. It feels alright, but weird at the same time, like new gym shoes.

The popcorn is on his lap, and Kunimi reaches over to grab some as soon as the trailers start. Tsukishima waits until the movie, just like Kageyama. Kageyama hopes the popcorn will last. He doesn’t want Kunimi to eat it all.

The movie is good, although confusing. It seems like that’s the point. The popcorn is kind of annoying, but Kageyama doesn’t know where else to put it. His lap is the only logical place for it. Tsukishima and Kunimi keep leaning into him whenever they grab more. He eats some of it too. One time, he bumps hands with Kunimi’s while taking some, and he doesn’t eat any more for the next half hour of the movie.

Tsukishima leans over to take more, but Kunimi just took the last of it, and instead of putting his greasy hand back in his own lap, Tsukishima rests it on Kageyama’s leg. Maybe his shoulders are too wide for the arm rests to be comfortable.

Kageyama will probably have to wash his trousers because of the grease. He was going to do it anyway, so he doesn’t mind as much. On his other side, Kunimi’s shoulder is warm against his.

There’s an explosion on-screen. There’s a lot of shooting. It’s a good distraction. Kageyama is still balancing the popcorn bucket, even though it’s empty. If he moved it, Tsukishima would probably move his hand. Kunimi might shift away.

The popcorn stays.

It’s dark outside. The movie was long, but it could have been longer. It was alright. “It was good,” Tsukishima says, when they exit. He sounds surprised. Maybe he was too engrossed in the movie to realize his hand was on Kageyama’s leg.

“Yeah,” Kunimi says. “I liked it.”

“Me too,” Kageyama says. He can’t really remember what it was about, but he liked it.

Tsukishima doesn’t live near Kageyama and Kunimi, but the three of them still walk together. Kageyama walks in the middle, and he has to move his head to look between them. There are a lot of streetlights on the road, and it makes the shadows of Tsukishima’s glasses flicker.

“I liked the part with the girl,” he says.

“The one where she -” Kunimi says, and gestures. Kageyama nods.

“I liked the part where someone ate all the popcorn,” Tsukishima says. Sometimes he sounds like acid, and sometimes he sounds like honey. Right now he sounds like both.

“It was my money,” Kageyama replies. He didn’t even eat that much of it. Tsukishima ate a lot, so he has no reason to complain. “Buy your own, next time.”

He didn’t mean to say ‘next time’. His arms feel heavy at his sides, and he puts them into his pockets. It’s cold outside, and dark, and he wants to go home.

“Maybe I will,” Tsukishima says, after a pause. Kageyama doesn’t look at him. Kunimi laughs. It sounds weird.

“Shut up,” Kageyama says, looking at him. “You ate a lot of it.”

Kunimi shrugs, still smiling. He doesn’t say anything. They’re nearing the street where they’ll all separate. Kageyama can see it in the distance.

They never did play volleyball.

Kageyama stops once they get there, and so do Kunimi and Tsukishima.

“Thanks,” Kunimi says. Tsukishima nods. Kageyama doesn’t know who he’s thanking, or what for. He nods too.

Then Kunimi leans in and kisses Tsukishima’s cheek. They look like Europeans on TV, except not at all, because it’s Kunimi and Tsukishima, and neither of them are European. There’s no reason for them to kiss on the cheek like Europeans when they’re not. Is this a joke, some prank that they planned when he wasn’t paying attention, another thing he’s going to react to the wrong way, just because no one told him?

Kunimi takes a step towards him, and Kageyama moves back instinctively, his hands moving out of his pockets. He doesn’t want to be made fun of, not now. But there’s no glass under his nails, no splinters under his skin. Maybe they think it should always be like that. Maybe they’re right. Maybe -

Kunimi takes his hand and squeezes it, and then he lets go.

Kageyama’s hand is really warm. The cold night air on his cheeks feels a lot more cooling than it did just previously.

“Good night,” Kunimi says, and walks away.

“Bye,” Tsukishima says after him. He looks at Kageyama, who still hasn’t lowered his hand. He sighs. “You’re an idiot.”

“Shut _up,”_ Kageyama says. The words taste sour. He doesn’t understand why Kunimi did that. Does that mean his hands are good for touching, after all?

Tsukishima sighs. “I’m going, too,” he says. He touches Kageyama’s shoulder, then his hand falls away. Kageyama looks up at him. Does Tsukishima want him to act like Kunimi? Kageyama isn’t Kunimi. They’re very different people.

He could tell him he’ll toss to him next time they’re on the court, but you can’t promise things like that. That much, Kageyama knows. “Good bye,” he says. Tsukishima’s jacket is made out of some odd fabric, and it feels soft under his fingers. He jerks his hand back. He didn’t do it on purpose. If he leaves soon enough, maybe Tsukishima won’t say anything about it.

Kageyama starts walking in the opposite direction.

“That’s not how these things usually end, you know,” Tsukishima says loudly after him.

Kageyama turns back to look at him. His hair is really light in the dark. Things are starting to make sense. Kageyama doesn’t know why they couldn’t just _tell him_. “Maybe next time,” he says, and hurries home.

**Author's Note:**

> cry over rarepairs (and mainstream ships) with me on [tumblr](http://asexualtobio.tumblr.com) if you want.


End file.
